The New Hublot Big Bang Original Soft Touch

The Big Bang Original Soft Touch bears a very close resemblance to the Big Bang Original Unico unveiled in January 2026. The 43-millimetre case, the six H-shaped bezel screws and the multi-layered construction remain unchanged. The real innovation lies not in the watch’s shape, but in the texture of its surfaces.

The case, bezel and caseback have a titanium core which is overmoulded with a textured rubber compound. The fine texture is created within the material during this manufacturing stage and is not applied subsequently as a coating. Rubber thus no longer serves merely as a strap material or insert, but virtually defines the entire external appearance of the watch. The dial and strap feature the same surface finish.

Rubber as a structural material

Rubber has been part of Hublot’s identity ever since a gold case was paired with a black rubber strap in 1980. In the Soft Touch, the material now moves beyond its traditional role as a strap or insert. A titanium core is overmoulded with a textured rubber compound using specially developed moulds; the bezel and case back are also titanium components covered with such a rubber coating. The microscopic texture is created within the material itself during the manufacturing process and is neither paint nor a coating applied afterwards.

Gold alongside rubber, ceramic alongside metal, polished sections alongside matt ones. With the Hublot Big Bang Original Soft Touch, however, the most significant material contrast remains largely concealed. Titanium fulfils the structural role, whilst rubber forms the continuous outer shell, with even the dial and strap echoing the velvety effect. Hublot’s ‘Art of Fusion’ thus shifts from visible material contrast to the construction itself.

From the Big Bang Original Unico to the Soft Touch

The Big Bang’s multi-layered construction is particularly well suited to this reimagined approach. The wide bezel sits on the middle case as if it were a separate layer; screws and side elements structure the case, whilst the lugs extend its lines. The rubber coating therefore influences the appearance of the individual case planes without altering their clear separation or the overall silhouette. The Soft Touch adopts the more rounded lugs of the Big Bang Original Unico, launched in January 2026. The rubber-coated crown and the rectangular chronograph pushers with rubber inserts echo the new texture.

The fact that Hublot is unveiling this material concept at this particular moment follows a clear trajectory. To mark the 20th anniversary of the Big Bang collection, Hublot combined features of the original watch with those of the more modern Unico generation in several special-edition models in 2025. In January 2026, this ultimately evolved into a regular model range with the Big Bang Original Unico: 43 millimetres in diameter, revised ergonomics and the in-house chronograph calibre – it is hardly a coincidence that the Soft Touch now uses this most recently introduced architecture as its framework.

All Black and All Red: same texture, different effect

The choice of colours also ties in with the early development of the Big Bang collection. All Black references the monochrome concept introduced in 2006, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2026; All Red evokes the bright red high-tech ceramic that Hublot introduced in 2018. The Soft Touch now draws on both these colour schemes and, thanks to its rubber casing, lends them a new surface character. Despite having an identical construction, the new surface showcases both colours in very different ways.

In the All Red model, red-coloured rubber encases the titanium case, whilst rhodium-plated hands and exposed metal sections provide bright accents. In the photographs, the matt, almost textile-like finish also strips the red of some of the sheen that a polished ceramic surface, for example, can produce. As a result, whilst the colour appears less harsh, its minimalist effect remains just as intense – as a cohesive whole rather than a multi-part ceramic body.

The All Black model largely lacks such light-coloured contrasting accents. As even the pushers, satin-finished hands and H-shaped bezel screws are blackened, there are hardly any light reflections to break up the monochrome effect. This makes the carbon pattern and the raised sub-dials all the more effective in structuring the dial spatially. Consequently, legibility is somewhat reduced on the Hublot Big Bang Original Soft Touch All Black; in this version, the all-black design takes precedence over optimal legibility – as has been the case with the All-Black concept from the very beginning.

Both rubber dials feature a raised, carbon-effect pattern that lends additional depth to the monochrome design. Raised sub-dials and colour-coordinated flanges enhance the sense of depth. This ensures that the layered effect typical of the Big Bang is retained, despite the uniform rubber surface.

You can find out more about Hublot’s ‘Art of Fusion’ and high-tech haute horlogerie here in our article.

The Unico remains, the see-through caseback is omitted

With a diameter of 43 millimetres and a height of 13.2 millimetres, the Soft Touch remains a striking sports chronograph. Its water resistance of 100 metres also demonstrates that the new material composition does not compromise its suitability for everyday use. Inside, it is powered by the familiar HUB1280 Unico, an integrated automatic flyback chronograph with a column wheel. The calibre runs at 4 hertz, consists of 354 components and 43 jewels, and offers a 72-hour power reserve.

From our point of view, the only fly in the ointment is this: whilst the standard Big Bang Original Unico showcases the HUB1280 and its H-shaped tungsten rotor through a sapphire crystal caseback, the Soft Touch features a titanium caseback overmoulded with rubber, which obscures the view of the movement. As a result, one of the most striking design details of the current generation is lost at the expense of the material composition.

Price and availability

The All Red, reference 431.RXR.2770.RX.VEL, and the All Black, reference 431.RXN.2740.RX.VEL, are priced at 24,400 euros each. Both versions of the Hublot Big Bang Original Soft Touch are available from selected Hublot retailers and online. Whilst there is no new complication and no new case shape, there is, however, an unusually consistent reorganisation of the material hierarchy: rubber is no longer merely an accessory to a Big Bang, but acts as a link between the case, the dial and the strap.

hublot.com